September 2021
New Lamb
September brought unexpected, exciting news: a new lamb in the San Jacinto Mountains in Palm Springs! The lamb was born in late August and belongs to a radio-collared ewe in the range. This ewe did not give birth earlier in the year so it appears she was just bred later than usual. Lambing season typically extends from January through June for Peninsular bighorn, so this is quite an interesting outlier. It’s fun to see a new little one bounding around the hills so we’ll keep you posted on how it fares!
Barn Full
Since the captive herd has been housed in the same 30 acre and 7 acre enclosures since 1984, we supplemental feed alfalfa to ensure the native vegetation is not overgrazed. We get our alfalfa from a farm that has no contact with domestic sheep, goats, or cattle to prevent disease. With the drought this year, the captive herd went through more alfalfa than usual and we had to get a load at the beginning of September. The day of the delivery was a balmy 100+ degrees and the bales weight more than 100 lbs. so unloading it was a fun, hot job! Luckily, we have the best volunteers who came out to help! We’re thrilled to have the barn full of alfalfa and grateful to Marcie, Pam, Phil and Scott who helped get a dirty job done quickly!
Fall Fundraiser
Our 2021 Annual Party and Golf Classic will take place on Sunday and Monday November 21st and 22nd at Stone Eagle Golf Club and the invitations should reach your mailbox by mid-October. We’re excited for a more “normal” event again this year and hope you’ll join us at the Annual Party, the Golf Classic or both! If you are unable to come you can still be an event sponsor or auction donor. We’ve got something for everyone and would sure appreciate your support! All proceeds benefit the endangered Peninsular bighorn. For more event information, please visit our website www.bighorninstitute.org and if you have an auction item, please call 760-346-7334.
Roof Repair
Our office roof has been leaking after rain events for more than a year and our double-wide trailer was quoted $2,300 for a patch repair or $10,000 for a new roof. Neither quote sounded feasible so we decided to tackle it ourselves. Again, our volunteers came to help and powerwashed, patched and sealed the roof over the course of two days. Now, if we could just get some rain to test it out…Thanks again to our volunteers!
Golf Cart Needed
Last month, one of our golf carts caught fire and was completely destroyed and our field Jeep was significantly damaged. We use electric golf carts on property to minimize disturbance as we care for the captive herd. We could sure use a “new” golf cart donation, if you have one to give. Your donation would be completely tax-deductible.
If you don’t have a golf cart to donate, but would like to help, that would be wonderful. It’s going to cost $3,000-4,000 to buy a decent used golf cart so anything you can contribute would be most appreciated. All donations are tax-deductible. Thank you!
Outreach and Education
We’ve been giving bighorn presentations monthly this summer and September was no exception as we visited Bella Villaggio in Palm Desert. The season is approaching and if you’d like a bighorn presentation for your group to learn more about our local endangered Peninsular bighorn, give us a call at (760) 346-7334 or email us at bi@bighorninstitute.org.
You Can Help
There are plenty of easy and rewarding ways of helping out Bighorn Institute:
*Become a member - Renew your membership - Give a gift membership – it’s all tax-deductible!
*Adopt a bighorn: a unique gift for the person who has everything
*BI Resale Store – donate your small, high-quality items for a tax donation. BI gets 100% of sales
at Antique Galleries of Palm Springs. BI Resale Store | bighorninstitute
*CARS Donation Program: Donate a vehicle (car, boat, rv, etc.) to Bighorn Institute via CARS –
it’s tax-deductible! CARS donation program | bighorninstitute
*Shop Amazon Smile for Bighorn Institute: we’re all shopping online more so shop for the sheep!
We get a percentage of everything you buy when shopping smile.amazon.com and choose
Bighorn Institute as your charity of choice
*“Like” Bighorn Institute on social media to stay informed and support and promote our work
*Log your sheep sightings in our Bighorn Institute iNaturalist project here: iNaturalist Project | bighorninstitute
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